The Cousins Have Arrived!

Lila May and Evan Michael McNamara were born on Wednesday, October 14. (They were so close to sharing my birthday!) Alanna's water broke at the hospital after her regular check up, and things went very quickly after that. She didn't even have time for any pain medication. In other words, she delivered twins naturally! I can't even imagine... Even though they were born almost five weeks early, Lila and Evan are doing really well. Carter and I drove down to Chicago last Tuesday to meet them and didn't get home until last night. Lila came home last Friday, and it sounds like Evan will be home very soon.

Of course I'm not surprised, but Alanna and Mike are awesome parents already. I am in awe of their dedication to those babies. When they were both in the hospital - and Alanna and Mike could have actually gotten some sleep - they spent all day and most of the night with their babies. They didn't want to miss a feeding or even just a chance to hold them. Now that Lila is home I think it's even more difficult for Alanna and Mike. They are happy to have Lila home, but they don't want to leave Evan "alone" at the hospital. They are so much stronger than they realize.

Carter really didn't know what to think of Lila. In fact, he pretty much ignored her; he would look at anything and everything but her. Maybe he doesn't want to share Alanna and Mike with any other babies. I know Carter is going to be very close to his cousins though. I can't wait to watch them grow up together, and I love sharing the miracle of motherhood with my best friend and sister! And now I understand how much Alanna and Mike love Carter. I did not to leave the twins. Today Jeff called me from work and mentioned going to Chicago this weekend...

Sleeping and Eating Update

Carter turned four months on September 13. That night, for the first time in over a month, I put him in his crib. It was a long night, but Carter did sleep in his crib all night. The next three weeks were very difficult. Carter slept through the night twice but was up several times during the other nights. When he woke up during the night he was mad and crying, so I usually had to feed him in order to get him back to sleep. He was like a newborn again! Things started to improve, and then Carter came down with a cold. He started out in his crib but seemed uncomfortable sleeping flat on his back. So I put him in his swing, thinking that I would only need to do it for a night or two. Well, each night got worse; he spent less and less time in his crib and more and more time in his swing. Even after his cold had cleared up, he still wouldn't sleep in his crib.

Last night was the worst! I put Carter to sleep at 9:00 P.M. He "talked" in his crib for a little while and then started crying. I let him cry for ten minutes and then went in to comfort him. He calmed down and fell back to sleep as soon as I picked him up, but he started screaming as soon as I put him back down in his crib. This pattern continued for hours. At 2:00 A.M. I finally gave in and put him in his swing. He fell asleep immediately and didn't wake up until 9:00 A.M. I really don't know what to do. I'm frustrated that after weeks of no sleep we're back where we started. I'm going to keep trying to put him in his crib, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. And I'm not going to let him cry himself to sleep. I know some people might disagree with me, but I guess I don't think there is anything wrong with Carter knowing that when he cries someone will respond. And my doctor has assured me that you can't spoil a baby...

On a happier note, we started feeding Carter rice cereal and even some level one baby foods. My hope was, of course, that a little "food" would help him sleep. That hasn't been the case, but it has been fun to watch Carter eat. He isn't a big fan of rice cereal, but he has enjoyed some of his baby food. We're trying a new fruit or vegetable every three days. So far he has liked carrots and squash the best. My mom said Alanna and I were the same way. We ate so many orange vegetables that our skin actually started to turn orange!

He can roll!

Carter can roll - but only from his stomach to his back! He did it for the first time a few weeks ago. I was in the kitchen, and I heard Jeff say, "He's gonna roll!" By the time I got to the living room, I had missed it; Carter was already on his back, looking very confused. At first I didn't believe that he had actually rolled over. Since then, however, I've seen it for myself! He doesn't do it all the time, but he can do it. Usually he has to get pretty mad first though...

Alanna's Baby Shower Weekend

We had Alanna's baby shower on Friday, August 28. It was a huge success! Alanna got so much stuff for the twins, and it was really good to see our friends and family. After the shower, "the girls" all went back to my mom's house and, of course, talked about babies until way too late. My grandma Bauer also stayed at my mom's all weekend and was promptly nicknamed "The Baby Whisperer." She could literally take a screaming Carter and get him to fall asleep in her arms! Over the weekend, Carter had the opportunity to test several of the twins' new toys. As you can see from the pictures, he especially enjoyed the wash pod and pink Bumbo chair.

My Superman

I have been staying a little closer to home lately with the hope of getting my little superman on some sort of a schedule. Most nights Carter sleeps from 10:00 P.M. until 9:00 A.M., usually only waking up around 4:00 or 5:00 to eat. He eats as soon as he gets up in the morning and again around 11:00. Then I try to get us out of the house for an hour or so; we meet Beth or Tatiana for lunch or run some errands around town. I feed him again around 1:30 and then put him down for a nap, in his swing of course. He usually sleeps from 2:00 until 5:00. He eats as soon as he wakes up and again around 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00. We usually go for a walk at some point in the early evening, and Jeff usually gives him a bottle at either 7:00 or 8:00. Although I'm still spending a lot of time everyday feeding Carter, it has gotten much better. And I'm actually really enjoying breastfeeding now. (I'm so glad I didn't give it up in the beginning. Believe me, it was tempting.) I'm also really enjoying my time to myself in the afternoon!

P.S. I'm sure as soon as I post this Carter will change things up...

Road Trip

Last week, while Jeff was at We Fest, Carter and I decided to take a road trip! On Wednesday we drove to Appleton to visit Christine and Sophie. We did some shopping and even went to the pool. The next day Christine and Sophie rode with us down to Chicago to visit Mike and Alanna. It was well worth the long drive! I don't think Carter has ever had so much attention! We did more shopping and a lot of relaxing. Plus, we finally won the bottle battle. We bought some new bottles, and Carter seems to like them; he even took a bottle from me one night. Carter also started to grasp and play with a couple of his toys while we were in Chicago. He especially likes a giraffe named Sophie. (No, we didn't name the toy after Christine's baby. She came with that name.) It's so much fun to watch him learn how to use his hands.

While we may have won the bottle battle, the crib battle rages on. Carter continues to sleep very well at night; he'll sleep eight to eleven hours straight most nights. But he has to be in his swing, and the swing has to be moving, all night. I'm really not sure how to transition him from his swing to his crib. I've been trying to trick him into sleeping in his crib by laying him down in there asleep. If he doesn't wake up and immediately start crying, he usually lasts less than an hour. Then he gets so worked up that I have to feed him and pretty much start the whole bedtime routine over again. It would be so much easier just to let him sleep in his swing, but I can't get this image out of my head: Carter is so big that his legs are touching the ground as he swings himself to sleep. I'll keep you posted on our progress! Wish us luck!

I need sleep!

When I was pregnant everyone told me to rest while I could. Of course I didn't listen. I was too busy cleaning and getting everything ready for Carter. What a mistake! Now I would give just about anything for some sleep. And I mean real, restful sleep.

Carter has actually been sleeping a lot better lately though. He has been sleeping through the night most nights; I usually put him to bed around 10:00 P.M., and he hasn't been waking up until around 7:00 A.M. most mornings. However, almost all of this good sleep has taken place in his swing. I know, I'm the worst mom ever! When I discovered this amazing phenomenon I did call my doctor, and she told me Carter could sleep in his swing (or car seat) until three or four months. Imagine my relief! She said she thinks Carter probably has some reflux that makes it uncomfortable for him to sleep flat on his back.

Last night I put Carter in his crib at 10:00. He slept in there until midnight. At midnight though I heard him fuss, so I quickly moved him into his swing, where he slept until 7:30 A.M. Carter and I are off to Appleton and then Chicago next week, so maybe we'll wait and try the whole transition-into-crib thing when we get home!

P.S. The top picture is of Carter sleeping in his car seat, in his crib! I thought it was kind of funny!